A webinar led by Learning Technologies expert Laura Overton

Would you like to improve your organisation’s business bottom line? Get your managers really ‘engaged’ with the learning? And your staff to fully embrace eLearning? Who woudn’t!

Well Laura Overton can show you how, drawing on the input of more than 2,200 organisations from the private, public and not for profit sectors.

In this webinar she’ll help you identify how you can use benchmarking to improve take-up of learning technologies, management engagement and productivity.

So why not spend 30 minutes, and save yourself hours of trying things for yourself…We’ll provide you with hot tips and practical ideas drawn from benchmark participants to save you from reinventing the wheel.

Three Reasons why you should take part:

1. Improve take-up of learning technologies – increase engagement

2. Increase performance and productivity – affect the bottom line

3. Learn effective implementation practices to save time and money – save reinventing the wheel

Webinar presenter, Laura Overton is the Managing Director of Towards Maturity – a not for profit benchmark practice that provides independent research to help business deliver improved performance through learning innovation. Her work is based on 25+ years of practical experience looking at learning innovation for business advantage and is backed by her independent research.

Sign up for this webinar using the booking form below.

A webinar led by Owen Ferguson

Owen Ferguson looks into the seemingly obscure world of functionality, user testing and design – which is not as complicated as it may seem! Join us and discover how to create a fantastic online experience for staff, first time, every time.

In an earlier webinar on online engagement (which you can listen to in our archive) we looked at the importance of awareness, communication and access for a successful online initiative. In this follow up session, we discuss what needs to happen once an employee arrives at their eLearning destination. Whether it’s a performance support tool, learning portal or online network there are some activities you can undertake to ensure that your people have the best possible experience. Join us to explore the murky world of functionality, user testing and design and pick up some expert tips for getting it right.

Owen is a Product Development Director at GoodPractice. He has been involved in Learning and Development in some shape or form for the past 10 years. Before this he was involved in sales so he knows what it’s like to work at the sharp end of the business.

Book your place using the contact form below:

It is my mission to seek out those who have the skills to help nonprofits achieve their online learning goal.” Ian Ross, Learning Technologies Manager, co-ordinator of Global Giveback UK

“It is the nature of people that we achieve things together. What one person can’t do, another person can,” says Ian Ross, Learning Technologies Manager for the Corporate eLearning Consortium and one of the driving forces behind Global Giveback UK  - a fantastic initiative marrying resources and expertise in the corporate sector to charities in need.

In an article for The Information Daily, Ian explains the basic thinking behind Global Giveback UK – an initiative from sister organisation The Charity Learning Consortium, of which Ian is also Learning Technologies Manager.

In the article Ian explains that charities have been harder hit than most in the current economic climate – with a knock on effect to funds that are available for L&D: “The nonprofit sector is feeling an economic pinch that is slightly stronger than the one the rest of us are. If pledges are down and local Government has to cut their own spending then you can rest assured that the bottom rung, worst off contender here is our nonprofit friends.”

“But what do we do if we don’t have any money to spend? You can’t up-skill your experts and L&D people – in-fact, the whole reason you’re creating online learning is because you can’t afford the training, never mind something quite specialist.

“SO if you have online learning you have/want to make and it’s for a good cause but you’re not technical… and you can’t afford the ‘help’, you’re in a bit of a pickle, aren’t you?”

In this situation, Global Giveback UK is not asking for any financial donations. But, as Ian goes onto explain, Corporate organisations are ideally placed to share the resources and expertise that they have with those that haven’t.

“This is a place where brains and resources can be shared with the nonprofit sector in the UK. Nonprofits are submitting face to face ideas and online learning projects that they ‘aren’t technical enough” to deliver themselves and are, in turn, sharing any content created with other nonprofits in the UK.

“It is my mission to seek out those who do have the skills to help nonprofits achieve their online learning goal and up-skill at the same time.”

So who is going to benefit from this? All nonprofits in the UK who have a need for the learning created, all their staff, volunteers, service users.

How can you help? Ian goes on to ask readers what they can contribute to help Global Giveback UK: “If you don’t have the time to spend on this, perhaps you could think about any resources you already have – such as eLearning courses, graphics, demo videos and share them with the teams who are delivering the finished product.”

To donate much needed eLearning resources to our charity friends in the UK, or to find out how you can share your expertise, please get in touch with Ian at iross@elearningconsortium.com

You can read the entire article at The Information Daily.com

Ian is the Learning Technologies Manager for the Charity Learning Consortium He has worked in HR, Learning and Development and eLearning since graduating from Aberdeen University and has also previously worked as a trainer in IT. Ian is passionate about finding new and innovative ways to overcome technical challenges. He’s an expert in designing bespoke solutions and works closely with corporate clients to ensure the smooth running of all of our leadership and management resources.

The need for an agile and highly skilled workforce means that eLearning should be embraced as a vital tool for developing talent and capability across organisations…our research suggests that UK businesses are not taking full advantage of the flexibility of eLearning and the networking opportunities it affords.” Dr John McGurk, L&D adviser, CIPD

Three-quarters (74%) of organisations currently use eLearning but only 15% report that it is one of the most effective learning practices available to them. This gap will need to be closed if UK businesses are to keep up with the impact of globalisation and capitalise on the benefits of eLearning, such as improved connectivity and more flexibility in their ability to develop staff. This is according to the annual CIPD survey which tracks changes in workplace L&D practices.

Dr John McGurk, Learning and Development Adviser at CIPD and author of the report, comments: “The globalisation of many businesses and the need for an agile and highly skilled workforce means that eLearning should be embraced as a vital tool for developing talent and capability across organisations. However, our research data suggests that UK businesses are not taking full advantage of the flexibility of eLearning and the networking opportunities it affords.

“Disappointing completion rates highlight that organisations need to do more to encourage their employees to take-up and finish existing eLearning courses. Low rates in the use of mobile learning packages and serious games also suggest that businesses could be doing more to keep up to date with the latest developments and remain relevant for today’s workforce, many of whom embrace modern technology at home.”

Perception of eLearning (which includes methods such as online virtual learning, serious games and webinars) has improved over the past five years, but there is still some way to go. Despite widespread expectations in the 2011 Learning and Talent Development survey – that eLearning would account for an increasing proportion of training time – the 2013 findings suggest eLearning has changed very little over the past two years.

According to the research, the vast majority of respondents (91%) stated that they believe eLearning is more effective when it is combined with other types of learning. Take-up of mobile learning and gaming is low, the report reveals, whilst the popularity of podcasts and webinars in organisations continues to soar.

You can read more about the CIPD’s research on it’s website here.

Further findings:

• Nearly three quarters (72%) of organisations that use e-learning reported that they offer it to the majority of their employees, but just 31% of organisations reported that most employees completed the course. This has improved since 2011, when 23% of organisations reported that the majority of their employees completed the course.

• The use of mobile learning packages designed for smart phones has had very little take-up to date (with only 14% of organisations reporting that they have used them regularly, frequently or occasionally). The use of serious games, for example games designed to test and develop learning through game scenarios, has also had low take up (with only 24% of organisations reporting that they have used them regularly, frequently or occasionally) whereas older methods, such as podcasts and webinars have been more popular (49% and 75% respectively have used them regularly, frequently or occasionally).

• The use of e-learning is particularly common in the public sector, where 90% of respondents report using it.

• The vast majority of respondents (91%) stated that they believe e-learning is more effective when it is combined with other types of learning and almost three quarters (72%) agree that it is not a substitute for face to face or classroom learning.

The key insights for L&D professionals drawn from the research are:

• The critical role of management in innovation cannot be overstated.
• Employee involvement is essential for innovation – even if this is restricted to staff suggestion schemes.
• Innovation is both a powerful form of learning and is powered by learning.
• Innovation is collaborative, based on sharing knowledge and insights.

You can read more about the results of this research – which were published at HRD - on the CIPD’s website.

What separates the positive and negative people is that the positive people have habits and behaviours that are conducive to success, whilst the negative people have ones that facilitate failure in their lives.

Remember: you control your habits – they do not control you. Your life is the culmination of all the daily behaviours that you have chosen. You are where you are right now because of the behaviours that you have adopted in the past.

It is important to identify which habits in your life lead to negative consequences and which lead to positive rewards. The challenge with changing is there may not be instant gratification. If you change your habits, you’re not necessarily going to see an immediate effect. It is for this reason that people struggle with diets or can’t stop drinking, smoking, or spending money, because they can’t control the instant gratification that is delivered.

Experts in hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which is the art and science of personal excellence, believe that it takes around 21 to 28 days to form the basis of a new habit or behaviour. The time it takes to replace an old one is inconclusive because it depends entirely on the person and how long they have owned it.

As with any newly learned behaviour, you may well experience some internal resistance for the first week or more. This is natural and it’s not going to be easy, so you have to mentally prepare for this challenge ahead of time. After you survive this first week, you will find that your new habit and behaviour becomes easier and easier to do and soon you don’t even have to think about doing it at all.

Here are a few useful tips to help you change your habits.

Do just one habit at a time: This is really important as changing habits is difficult, even with just one habit. If you do more than one habit at a time, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Keep it simple, allow yourself to focus, and give yourself the best chance for success.

Make a record: Just saying you’re going to change a habit is not enough of a commitment. You need to actually record what you are going to do.

Make a plan: This will ensure you’re really prepared. The plan must include: your reasons and motivations for changing; obstacles; triggers; people who will support you; and other ways you are committed to being successful.

Establish strong motives: You have to be very clear why you are changing your habit. If you are doing it for someone else with no real will then you are setting yourself up to fail.

Analyse your obstacles: If you have tried to change this habit before and it hasn’t worked, reflect on the reasons why and work out what stopped you from succeeding. Record every obstacle then create a plan of how to overcome them.

Identify your triggers: What situations trigger your current habit? Most habits have multiple triggers. Identify all of them and record them in your plan.

Ask for help: Get your family and friends and co-workers to support you. Ask them for their help, and let them know how important this is to you.

Become aware of self-talk: You talk to yourself, in your head, all the time and may not be consciously aware of what you are programming yourself with. Start listening to those thoughts because they can easily derail any habit, change or goal if you’re not careful.

Stay positive: You may well have some negative thoughts and the most important thing is to realise when you are having them and convert them into more positive thoughts. You are totally capable of doing this.

Avoid toxic people: There will always be people who are negative, who try to get you to revert to your old habit. Be ready for them and confront them. You don’t need them to try to sabotage you, you need their support, and if they can’t support you then avoid them if you can.

Use visualisation: Create a vivid picture, in your head, where you are successfully changing your habit. Visualise yourself doing your new habit. Your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what is artificial so you will project yourself into the desired state by constantly rehearsing for it.

Reward yourself: When you succeed, you deserve to reward yourself and this will incentivise and motivate you to keep going with whatever you are trying to achieve.

Take The 30 Day Challenge: Allow about 30 days to implement a new habit. This will help you to stay focused and consistent and build a routine. This is a round number and the successful outcome will vary from person to person and habit to habit. It is very good starting point.

About the author

Liggy Webb is widely respected as a specialist in the field of modern life skills. As a presenter, consultant and author she is passionate about her work and improving the quality of people’s lives. She has researched and developed a range of techniques and strategies to support individuals and organisations to cope more effectively and successfully with the demands and challenges of modern living.

Liggy is an international consultant for the United Nations and travels extensively working in a variety of worldwide locations. She is also the founding director of The Learning Architect an international learning and development organisation that specialises in behavioural skills, based in the UK.

Liggy’s new book Resilience, Published by Capstone, is out on 15 February 2013. For a free mini eBook and toolkit email info@liggywebb.com

Visit www.liggywebb.com to view Liggy’s latest TV interview and to find out more.

Adding value

In 2012, we saw that learning technologies are really starting to deliver. [1] The results in some areas are really encouraging; with organisations reporting that, compared to traditional methods, technology enabled learning was helping them:

Add value:

• Roll out IT systems 33% faster than before
• Staff are 22% more productive
• Staff retention rates improved by 9%

Whilst improving efficiency:

• Improve in time to competency by 16%
• Reduce delivery time 24%
• Reduce costs by 22%

These strong results are a real bonus for those planning to ask for further investment in 2013 – what chief executive would snub their nose at the opportunity to get their staff up and running 25 – 33% faster? What finance officer could ignore efficiency savings of 20% or more whilst improving the outputs of the organisation?

What chief executive would snub their nose at the opportunity to get their staff up and running 25 – 33% faster? What finance officer could ignore efficiency savings of 20% or more whilst improving the outputs of the organisation?

This is a great starting point but it’s important not to rest on our laurels or to believe that we’ve achieved all we can. There are still areas where we’re looking for additional benefits but we’re not quite there yet. For example, more than 90% of organisations want to improve induction and increase productivity but less than 20% are achieving their goals to date.

Becoming a top learning organisation

So what can we learn from each other? I’ve always been interested in finding out why some organisations seem to achieve so much more with technology and what we can learn from them. Since starting our research in 2003, more than 2,200 organisations have participated in the Towards Maturity Benchmark Study from a wide range of sectors. We’ve identified 6 workstreams of effective behaviours that set top learning companies apart and have created the Towards Maturity Index (TMI) to help organisations map themselves against the most successful. When we compare the results reported by organisations in the top quartile of the TMI with those in the bottom 25%, we find that top learning companies are a staggering seven times more likely to report:

• Improved staff motivation and employee engagement
• Increased ability to tailor programmes to need
• Staff able to apply  learning faster
• Improvements in productivity

They are also three times more likely to report improved induction processes and reduced time away from the job.

So how are top learning companies different from the rest? We’ve found that success is driven by the stuff that’s free – innovative thinking and better collaboration delivers results, not investing in the latest technology craze.

Better together

One of the approaches that set the top learning companies apart is their focus on collaboration both within the organisation and beyond. They understand that it’s better to work together with business leaders, line managers, learners, trainers and peers from outside of the industry than to go it alone.

For example, compared with those in the bottom quartile of the TMI, top learning companies are five times more likely to identify business metrics in partnership with senior management and three times more likely to analyse business problems before recommending a solution. They are also five times more likely to agree that their organisation welcomes innovation and contributions from their own staff. And they are five times more likely to collaborate with classroom trainers and 40 times more likely to involve line managers in learning design. These are quite simply staggering results.

At the risk of sounding evangelical about benchmarking, top learning companies are also 25 times more likely to actively use formal benchmarking as a performance improvement tool and are 21 times more likely to informally benchmark their learning strategy and practices against other organisations in their industry sector. These statistics speak for themselves!

Make it a priority to benchmark in 2013

If you have not had a chance to take part in a formal benchmark before, why not make it a priority at the beginning of 2013 to spend an hour completing your Towards Maturity benchmark review. This will help you reflect on your current strategy and identify the priority areas that will help you become a top learning company. There is no reason to struggle alone – after all it’s better together…

Laura Overton

Laura is the MD of Towards Maturity, a not-for-profit company that provides research and resources for anyone interested in improving the impact of learning technologies at work. She’s a regular columnist and conference speaker and her work has been acknowledged with special achievement awards from the Learning and Performance Institute and eLearning awards for outstanding contributions to the industry. The Corporate eLearning Consortium is proud to be a Towards Maturity Ambassador, supporting her valuable work.

Any organisation can take part in the Towards Maturity benchmark at  http://mybenchmark.towardsmaturity.org free of charge thanks to the support of Towards Maturity’s Ambassadors, which include The Corporate eLearning Consortium. If you haven’t done so before, register on the website and complete the My Review section of the benchmark. Contact Laura@towardsmaturity.org for further information on how to access your report.

In a nutshell, you don’t want existing content to dictate the design of your course. This seems obvious but often isn’t the case.

Getting to intentional design

Many eLearning courses start as classroom content that needs to be converted and put online. Or subject matter experts hand you a bunch of PowerPoint slides that they want to turn into eLearning courses.

This type of content already has some instructional consideration, albeit for a classroom. And it has some visual design that usually comes from a template with specific colours, schemes, and fonts.

Instead of being intentional about the instructional and visual design of the course we allow the existing content to determine how we build it. What we should do is take a step back, think about general course design, and then map our content to the design that’s appropriate to the course objectives.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, elearning courses have three essential elements. I like to frame them as questions.

• What will the course look like?
• What content needs to be in the course?
• What will the learner do with this content?

These three questions help to drive the intentionality of your course design.

Put your hands up & step away from that PowerPoint file

Here’s a typical scenario. You’re handed a PowerPoint file and some other documents. The subject matter expert has been using that content for years in a successful classroom setting and now wants that converted to eLearning.

Easy enough.

In this scenario, we typically open up the existing PowerPoint file and make decisions on a slide-by-slide basis. We start on slide one, make some adjustments, and then move on to slide 2. Make a few more adjustments, and then move on to the next slide.

The challenge with this approach is that you’re letting the existing content and instructional structure drive how you build the course. That may work on some occasions but for the most part it’s not ideal.

Be Intentional about the course design

Even if the existing content looks right, don’t start there. Take a step back and start with a blank screen. Then determine how the course needs to be built and what content you need.

If the existing content you have works, great. If not, then you’re not letting it dictate your course design. In either case, you want to be intentional in how the course is designed. This will ensure that you’re moving in the right direction.

Let’s revisit the three essential questions.

What will the course look like?

The course is going to look like something. Even if you are in a hurry and decide to do nothing but a simple conversion, the course is still going to look like something.

The look that isn’t really right for the course is most likely the one that comes from the existing content. But there is a look that is right for the course… It’s just a matter of finding it.

Be intentional about the visual design of your eLearning course.

What content needs to be in the course?

Subject matter experts tend to think everything’s important. And it probably is in the proper context. But ‘important’ content is not the same as the ‘right’ content that is appropriate to the goals of the eLearning course.

Not all of the information about a given topic needs to be in an eLearning course. I prefer a backwards design approach. At the end of the course, what change should I expect from the learner? What does it look like if I see it? Then build the course so the learner can practice and demonstrate that desired change.

Be intentional about aligning the course content to the course objectives.

What will the learner do with this content?

This question builds off of the second one. The content in the course is structured to meet specific objectives. As the learner goes through the course, what is she supposed to do? This question helps focus on the interactive component of the course.

Do you want her reading and reflecting on content? Is there a place for her to do something, to make some decisions? Once she’s exposed to the course content, what is she supposed to do?

Sometimes the course content is simple refresher material and doesn’t require a lot of interactivity. But often the content is new and is tied to some sort of performance expectation. What can you do to get the learner to practice using the information in a setting similar to what they’d do in the real world?

Be intentional about aligning the course’s interactivity to meeting the course’s objectives.

As I’ve mentioned before in my blog, the capabilities of authoring software have evolved. This has opened the doors to do more with eLearning. But easy course creation is not going to replace being intentional about how you design your courses. It just makes it easier to build what you intend to build.

The trick is to intend to build the right type of course. It requires that you answer those three essential questions: What will the course look like? What content needs to be part of it? And what is the learner supposed to do with this course?

If you can answer those questions you’re well on your way to building effective eLearning.

About Tom Kuhlmann

Tom Kuhlmann is recognised as one of the most influential people in eLearning in the world. He leads the Consortium’s popular rapid eLearning design workshop in May. He authors the popular Rapid E-Learning Blog with more than 85,000 subscribers, sharing tips and tricks to help people build better eLearning. He also manages Articulate’s E-Learning Heroes community, which has more than 100,000 members.

Charities need your help! Global Giveback UK is not asking for any financial contributions, but does need the support of the eLearning industry in the UK to ensure the success of this new initiative to help generate free learning resources specifically for the charity and voluntary sector.

Here’s how Global Giveback UK will work, what it’s looking for, and how you can contribute resources and expertise. To find out more connect with us on Linked In and Facebook. Go on, get involved and give something back…

What Global Giveback UK is looking for:

Online learning resources & expertise. Please note that Global Giveback UK is not asking anyone for any money and that all charities in the UK can benefit, not just members of The Charity Learning Consortium. A curriculum of need is being established, to try and match resources to third sector requirements but all donated content is most welcome.

Who can help?

• Are you a freelance working in the eLearning industry? Would you be willing to help create content for the charity sector? Can you contribute in other ways?
• Do you work in corporate eLearning and have time to spare to help a charity with a specific project? Or do you have a specific area of knowledge and expertise that you think could benefit charities? Most projects will be carried out online, through specific groups and forums.
• Are you an eLearning publisher? Could you create something for the charity sector? Do you have any content that could be remastered?
• Perhaps you are an eLearning supplier, with generic resources that you can donate? Or do you have bespoke content that – with permission – could be adapted?
• If you work in the media, could you help to promote Global Giveback UK? Media sponsors are being sought to help to raise the profile of this campaign, with updates to raise awareness of the great work that is being done, and to help publicise any specific calls for action.
• Are you involved in L&D in the third sector? If so, what resources would be of most benefit to you? A curriculum of needs is being established so that Global Giveback UK can try and match donated resources to requirements. You may also have charity specific resources already that you’d be willing to share with others working in L&D in the sector.
• Do you have other suggestions or contributions to make towards Global Giveback UK? The team behind Global Giveback UK is at the start of an exciting journey and is bursting with ideas – but they don’t have all the answers! The campaign will evolve as it goes along. If you have any suggestions that you think may help, please send them in.

How will Global Giveback UK work?

All content will be available on one repository to make it as accessible as possible. Content will also be accessible to third sector staff directly through social media wherever possible, enabling those working in the sector to access content ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’. This kind of accessibility is crucial for the sector – those working in care charities, for example, may not have a desk, whilst those working in charity shops may have no access to the internet whilst working, so flexibility when it comes to accessing learning is critical.

There’s a short film and more information on the Global Giveback UK Facebook page.

Celebrating success

Success will be celebrated with a special recognition Award for the best Global Giveback UK project 2013 at the Charity Learning Awards in the autumn. Very welcome donations will be publicised and progress updates will also be produced.

How to get in touch:

The team would love to chat more about Global Giveback UK, so do please get in touch. Email either  Martin Baker, MD of The Corporate eLearning Consortium mbaker@elearningconsortium.com or Ian Ross, Learning Technologies Manager at The Corporate eLearning Consortium iross@elearningconsortium.com . Please use Global Giveback in the subject line. Or call them on 08451 707705. Please also connect on Linked In or ‘like’ Global Giveback UK on Facebook to receive updates.

Using video for workplace learning has taken off in parallel to the ever increasing popularity of video in our daily lives. But for organisations that can’t afford to create their own bespoke content, where can they find cost-effective, relevant video material that really ‘speaks’ to managers, giving them clear advice from ‘someone that knows’?

Clear Lessons offers a suite of short, succinct videos based on the everyday challenges that ordinary managers face. Think of Clear Lessons as a colleague who has already been in the same situation – how did they handle it? What advice can they give?

Covering a wide range of workplace and soft skills, these short and engaging Lessons contain personal insights and experiences that can easily be accessed ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’, on mobile as well as desktop devices. The video Lessons are just one to three minutes long – providing the perfect means to support busy executives at work.

According to in-depth, global research into the use of learning technologies by Towards Maturity, organisations around the world are increasingly using best practice video content as part of a blended approach to L&D*.  This library of proactive videos provides a fantastic ‘How do I’ resource, giving practical advice based on key management issues.

The Lessons can be used to enhance management development programmes; as an on demand performance support tool , putting solutions directly into managers’ hands; and as pre and post classroom resources.

Martin Baker, MD of Clear Lessons suppliers The Corporate eLearning Consortium commented: “It can be hard to find really relevant, affordable video material that speaks directly to managers about their own experiences – until now. I hope that Clear Lessons will become a  mobile video ‘mentor’ in their pocket, supporting ordinary managers by offering solutions to the everyday workplace challenges that they face.”

*Towards Maturity research predicts a huge increase in the number of organisations using best practice video content from outside of their organisation as part of a blended approach to L&D. According to its research: 37% of organisations used video in this way in 2011; 42% in 2012; with a predicted rise to 65% this year (2013) and next. Towards Maturity, 2012-13 benchmark: Bridging the Gap, Integrating learning & work

About Clear Lessons

Clear Lessons is a series of short and succinct videos based on everyday challenges that managers face. Think of Clear Lessons as a colleague who has already been in the same situation – how did they handle it? What advice can they give?

The lessons are one to three minutes long and are in the form of anecdotal stories and ‘How do I?’s, aimed at helping managers here and now. Designed to be delivered to desktops, tablets or mobiles, help is always at hand. It’s bit like giving them a mentor that’s with them at all times!

If you would like to find out more  please email info@clearlessons.tv